Santa Claus And His Old Lady

I have an argument to make, and it’s that “Santa Claus and His Old Lady” is to Christmas what “Alice’s Restaurant” is to Thanksgiving.

I associate it with the back seat of the station wagon/minivan and long car drives.

It makes you laugh.

It makes you think.

You end the song feeling hopeful.

But the jump in, where a weird neighbor and his wife move into the hood, and - despite the wife’s incredible weed brownies, they make an awful lot of noise, your heart drops when you find out they got evicted.

The story shifts to their commune in the north pole. Yes, their commune. Hippies were so fun, weren’t they?

Without welfare and food stamps, they wouldn’t have all these “little helpers.”

If it sounds insensitive, it’s because it is, but also - it’s somehow not.

It’s about this micro community that got spit out by the system, but is still obsessed with giving back in the right way.

By the end we’re rethinking the story inside of the model we’re used to hearing it.

It’s totally unique. It’s totally Cheech and Chong. But it’s also totally a tradition we recognize.

It reminds me of how all traditions are like that.

They’re all about the feeling.

And when you encounter the feeling somebody else gets from their traditions, it’s ok to take a little from it, or borrow from it. They can feel foreign or strange, but - focus on the feeling.

Every November and December, these songs sneak their way back into rotation and never fail to take me out of my everyday.

Both songs, when you hear them on the holidays they belong on, can kick you out of your standard perspective, sometimes even more than the holidays themselves.

They’re default reflective like that. We can all use that.

I know I want more of it. Which - this year I’m thinking of why I love having them as part of my traditions. It ensures we get it.

Merry Christmas you guys - I’m grateful to have you here with me.